Motorcade with Olympic flame arrives in Red Square

The start of the Olympic Torch Relay, which is due to take place later in the day will consist of ten stages

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Photo ITAR-TASS/Mihail Mettsel

MOSCOW, October 6 (Itar-Tass) - Motorcade carrying the Olympic flame for the 22nd Winter Games in Sochi has arrived in Moscow’s Red Square where a gala ceremony of lighting the Olympic cauldron is due to be held.

An Aeroflot jet brought the flame to Vnukovo airport from Greece at around 14:00 Moscow Standard Time.

The start of the Olympic Torch Relay, which is due to take place later in the day will consist of ten stages, each of them located inside the walls of the Kremlin.

An official voyage of the Olympic flame across the territory of Russia will begin a day later and the St Basil’s Slope - a small square between the St Basil’s Cathedral and the Moskva River adjoining the southeastern corner of the Kremlin Wall -- will become its starting point.

The first athlete to carry the flame is the five-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming, Anastasia Davydova.

The Olympic flame will be taken to all the 83 constituent regions of Russia, into orbit and to the floor of Lake Baikal. The relay will finish February 7 in Sochi when the 22nd Winter Olympic Games begin.